The image defined the 2018 Titans. It was a visual to sum up a year-long journey and 17 meandering fall and winter weeks — a trek that ended with nine wins, seven losses and no playoffs for Tennessee’s pro football team.

This year could have provided some level of clarity for this franchise regarding its quarterback. Instead, that final, lasting illustration left everyone involved with only more questions and additional uncertainty.

Marcus Mariota stood near midfield late Sunday night, hands shoved into the pockets of his sweatshirt, with the hood raised over his head to shield him from a passing rain shower.

He stood as Mariota typically stands, understated and unassuming. He can look that way in a uniform. Out of it and in team-issued sweats? He was often lost in the surrounding sea of bustle and bodies, indistinguishable at times among those on the home sideline at Nissan Stadium.